Device for folding sheets or foils of paper or the like



H. ACHER DEVICE FOR FOLDING SHEETS OR FOILS OF PAPER OR THE LIKE 6Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 1, 1964 Fig.2

H. ASHER March 22, 1966 DEVICE FOR FOLDING SHEETS OR FOILS OF PAPER ORTHE LIKE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 1, 1964 H. ACHER DEVICE FOR FOLDINGSHEETS OR FOILS OF PAPER OR THE LIKE 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 1, 1964Jww at g Rm H. ACHEER March 22, 1966 DEVICE FOR FOLDING SHEETS OR FOILSOF PAPER OR THE LIKE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 1, 1964 March 22, 1966ACHER 3,241,829

DEVICE FOR FOLDING SHEETS OR FOILS OF PAPER OR THE LIKE Filed May 1,1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 March 22, 1966 H. ACHER 3,241,829

DEVICE FOR FOLDING SHEETS OR FOILS OF PAPER OR THE LIKE Filed May 1,1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Fig. I! my. I2

64 Fig I4 Fi .1;

United States Patent 3,241,329 DEVICE FOR FDLDING SHEETS OR FUILS 0FPAPER DR THE LIKE Heinz Acher, 54 Saarstrasse, Friedberg, Hesse, GermanyFiled May 1, 1964, Ser. No. 364,213 Claims priority, applicationGermany, May 3, 1963, A 43,030; Feb. 25, 1964, r 25,337 7 Claims. (Cl.270-61) The invention relates to a device for folding sheets or foils ofpaper or the like, for instance, for folding drawings or drawing prints.

Technical drawings or prints thereof are the basic working documents inindustrial and manufacturing production. Part of their completemanufacture is folding them up, more particularly for insertion in filesor for dispatch in correspondence envelopes. Kinds of folding (foldingpatterns) are known wherein large for-mat drawing sheets which have beenfolded and placed in spring-action files or lever arch files can bequite simply so spread out, without having to be taken out of the file,that the person studying them has the drawing in the correct positionbefore him. When the drawing is folded up, the title box containing thedrawing number and other particulars and usually placed in the bottomright-hand corner of the drawing lies facing upwards in legible fashion.Of course, folding patterns of this kind are relatively complicated.They are therefore seldom used correctly, either because of ignorance orbecause, for instance, when a print department has a large output ofphotoprints, there is insufficient time to fold the prints correctly. Asa rule, cardboard templates are the only things available to make thefolds and speed up the work. Folding devices are known but can providelongitudinal and transverse folds only at equal spacings. To alter thefold spacing a lever system must first be advjusted. However, thefolding distances, once adjusted are equal to one another during afolding operation, and so the drawings thus folded merely have folds atequal distances. These known devices cannot fold drawings in a mannersuitable for them to be stapled in a file.

' Also known is a device for folding paper sheets or foils whereinabutments are so arranged, at equal or varying intervals, to form abending edge on a flat baseplate as to determine the intervals betweenlongitudinal, diagonal and transverse folds in the sheets which it isrequired to fold. A perforator is provided on the baseplate of thefolding device, so that the abutments for the diagonal folding of theparticular formatsconcerned also serve as abutments 'for theperforation. With this known device, disclosed by German patentspecifications 1,121,075 and 1,124,973, sheets can be folded lengthwiseand transversely at .the same and/ or different intervals, foldeddiagonally and perforated in a single working step. However, the sheetsstill have to be moved up to the bending edge by hand, while folding isperformed by pedals being operated, so that the various folds must beperformed consecutively in time. Sheet folding as provided by this knowndevice is therefore still a timeconsuming job and requires skilledoperators. It is an object of this invention to provide convenient andspace- .saving devices for the mechanical folding of material in sheetform, the devices enabling more particularly folds to be performed atdifferent intervals on the same sheet. Above all, it is an object of theinvention to enable the difiicult longitudinal and diagonal folding oftechnical drawings and drawing prints to be performed automatically,although supplementary means can be provided for folding thelongitudinally folded sheets transversely.

The invention accordingly provides a device wherein at least one movingfolding stick is so disposed relatively to at least two stationarymatching or mating elements as to be movable from a position outside thematching elements into a position there'between and, in so doing, tomove with it, in the shape of a loop, the sheet which it is required .tofold and which has been introduced between the folding stick and thematching elements. Preferably, a number of folding sticks and anappropriate number of matching elements are disposed adjacent oneanother and operate seriatim during folding.

The invention therefore provides a device which takes up a very reducedamount of space yet which enables it to be folded cleanly; also, anumber of folds in a sheet can be made in a single working stepsubstantially simultaneously. Since, conveniently, the arrangement is sodeviced that any sheet, whatever its format, has a particular cornerapplied to stationary abutments and is retained by clamping in thisposition, the marginal perforation for stapling purposes can be effectedsimultaneously, a feature which further simplifies the operation.

Preferably, means are provided for selectively adjusting the depth towhich the folding sticks penetrate between .the matching elements.Conveniently in this case, the sheet to be folded acts by way ofappropriate control means to itself select that depth of penetration ofthe folding sticks which is correct for its format, and to select theassociated folding templatewhich is used to product a diagonal foldfacilitating the stapling of the folded sheet. This means that the samedevice can be used to provide fully mechanised and automatic folding ofdrawings or folds or different sizes, yet follow the folding patternspecified for each individual format.

These and other advantages of the subject matter of the invention willbecome apparent from the following description of embodiments, referencebeing made to the drawings. In the drawings, FIGS. 1-3 illustrate thespecial folding procedure outlined by German industrial standard DIN 824which can be performed by the device according to the invention,although the use thereof is not limited just to this particular job. Thepaper formats to DIN 476 for folding to DIN 824 agree with therecommendations of Committee 6 of the International Federation of theNational Standardising Associations Paper Formatsof August 1934, andthese recommendations are supported, according to ISA Bulletin No. 7Paper Formatsby Belgium, Germ-any, Finland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway,Austria, Poland, Rumania, Sweden, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Hungaryand the U.S.S.R. FIGS. 4 to 10 show embodiments of the longitudinalfolding device according to the invention, while FIGS. 11-15 show adevice which, in an advantageous development of the invention isdisposed adjacent the folding sticks and which is for sharp foldingand/or cross-folding of sheets which have previously been foldedlengthwise.

Specifically:

FIG. 1 illustrates the folding pattern to DIN the DIN A0 formati.e. 841mm. X 1189 mm.;

FIG. 2 illustrates the folding pattern to DIN the DIN Al format-i.e. 594mm. x 841 mm.;

FIG. 3 illustrates the folding pattern to DIN the DIN A2 format-Le. 420mm. x 594 mm.;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the main components of a folding machineaccording to the invention, the folding sticks being shown in section;

FIG. 5 is another View of the device shown in FIG. 4 after alongitudinal fold has been made, some of the folding sticks having movedin;

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of a folding machineaccording to theinvention, the view being in section along the line VIVI of FIG. 7;

824 for 824 for 824 for FIG. 7 is a section along the line VIIVII inFIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view of the folding machine shown in FIG. 6 in section alongthe line VIII-VIII in FIG. 9, with some of the folding sticks pushed in;

FIG. 9 is a section along the line IX-IX in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a horizontal section along the line X-X in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a section along the line XI-XI in FIG. 13 through a devicefor the combined sharp folding and transverse folding of sheets whichhave previously been folded lengthwise;

FIG. 12 is .a partial section along the line XII-XII in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the device shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a section along the line XIVXIV in FIG. 13, and

FIG. 15 is a view of a clamping device.

FIGS. 1a, 2a and 3a each show the particular format concerned in plan.The chain lines denote folding edges, the distances between them beinggiven near the edges of each figure. Also visible are the positions ofthe title box, of the stapling perforations in the margin, and of thediagonal folding.

FIGS. 1b, 2b, 3b are perspective views after the longitudinal anddiagonal folds have been made, whilst FIGS. 1c, 2c and 3c are viewsafter the transverse folds have been made.

After all these folds have been made the drawing has all the necessaryfolds to reduce it to the area of the DIN A4 format of 297 mm. x 210mm., so that it can be placed in a file or the like.

The folding patterns hereinbefore described are relatively complicatedto carry out but, if the standard is correctly applied, they are veryadvantageous so far as rational and practical handling of the sheets ordrawings placed in files is concerned. The drawing-folding machine whichwill be described hereinafter can perform these folds fullyautomatically although the patterns for the various formats differconsiderably from one another in their basic geometric construction. Forinstance, the diagonal fold is made at a different angle for eachformat. As a comparison of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 will show, the between-edgesdistances for the lengthwise folds are different for each format. Thedescription of the folding patterns mentioned by way of example isintended merely to show the operation of the machine according to theinvention which will be described in greater detail hereinafter.

Referring to FIG. 4, moving folding sticks 5-9 are disposed opposite to,but offset from, stationary matching elements 1-4; the folding sticks5-9 are adapted to move into the gaps between the elements 1-4. In FIG.4 the moving stick 9 has reached a position in which it also is anabutment for the right-hand edge of a sheet of A format which has beenintroduced from the left. In the position shown in FIG. 5, the movingstick 9 is in such a position relatively to its mating or matchingelement 4 that the sheet to be folded is being clamped tightly betweenthe elements 4 and 9. This clamping, which is necessary to retain thesheet to be folded, is effected between the elements 8 and 3 in the caseof the A1 format and between the elements 7 and 2 in the case of the A2format. A different clamping is required for the DIN A3 format.Accordingly, a roller 10 is provided which can be moved verticallyagainst a support plate. To fold the A3 format, another moving foldingstick 11 is introduced into a gap 12. To fold the A3 format, all thesticks -9 are in their bottom withdrawn position, so that the abutmentfor A3 sheets is the place 13. The roller also helps to keep the sheetstight as they are drawn into the gaps between the elements 1-4.

For the A0 and A1 formats, DIN 824 specifies a penetration depth of 190mm. each for the sticks 7 and 8, but the penetration depth for the stick6 varies with format, being either 109.5 or 125.5 or 192 mm. For the A3format the stick 11 must move 105 mm. into the gap 12.

When documents are folded to these spacings, there is, in the case ofthe DIN A0 to DIN A2 formats, a consistent distance of 210 mm. betweenthe abutment 14 and the stick 1, and this distance is as specified byDIN 824. For the DIN A3 format the corresponding abutment is at theplace 13, the distance between the same and the abutment 14 being 420mm. according to DIN 824.

A further development of the device according to the invention will nowbe described with reference to FIGS. 6-10. Referring to FIG. 6, therecan be seen stationary mating elements 1-4, and moving folding sticks6-8 can be introduced into the gaps between the stationary elements 1-4by means of a mechanical linkage, while the stick 5 moves merely as faras the bottom edge of the element 1 and clamps the sheets or drawings inthe manner necessary for further folding. Secured to the moving stick 5are folding templates -17 pivotable around their longitudinal axes toextend as far as folding ledges or strips 15a, 16a, 17a secured to theelement 1. The folding templates are used to form the folded-backdiagonal fold (cf. FIGS. 1-3). The effect that each template has offolding the sheet upwards is amplified by a folding plate 18 coupledwith the templates 15-17 (see FIG. 9). The templates 15-17 and plate 18are pivoted by magnets 19- 22 which operate through toggle mechanisms.The inclined portions of the sheet which have been folded by means ofthe templates 15-17 and associated ledges 15a- 17a are finish-folded bya pivoted plate 37; the same is articulated to the stationary element 1via a lever 49 and is normally kept open by a spring 38.

The sticks 5-8 are moved vertically by means of mechanical linkages23-26. The same, which each comprises a number of levers, are operatedby cams 27-30 mounted on a common spindle 31 connected to a drivingmotor 32. Since some folding distances must be different for the foldingof various formats but others are the same, the corresponding linkages23-26 must have either fixed pivots (for distances which stay the same)or interchangeable pivot pins (for distances which vary). For instance,the linkage 24 operating the folding stick 5 whose depth of penetrationvaries with format has interchangeable pivot pins 33-35 whereas, forinstance, the linkage has just a fixed pivot pin 36. The required pivotpin is engaged by means of electromagnets (not shown) before the startof folding when the pivot pins are so disposed in a line, in the mannershown in FIG. 7, that any of them could be introduced into the linkelement of the linkage system 24 and thereby vary the leverage of atleast one of the linkages. In the state of folding shown by way ofexample in FIG. 9, the pin 35 has been moved into its operative positionand the pins 33, 34 are inoperative.

The pins 33 and 34 can be selectively moved to their individualselective positions to again change the leverage of the linkage andcause the corresponding stick to move upwardly a shorter or greaterdistance.

The device shown in FIGS. 11-15, which can be attached to a foldingmachine according to the invention, is used for fully automatic sharpfolding and transverse folding. With this device, a sheet which has beenfolded by the folding sticks and their mating elements and which leavesthe folding machine laterally can be pulled out fully, mechanically inthe manner indicated at a place in FIG. 10 and folded sharply and, ifrequired, transversely.

The side 53 of the casing in FIG. 12 is that side of the folding machinewhere abutment ledges or the like 42, 43 (FIG. 10) are disposed. Theside 53 of the casing 54 is formed, in registration with all the movingand stationary stick elements, with apertures 55, 57 via which thefolded sheets can be picked up and pulled out of the machine either byhand or by mechanical grippers (not shown). In this event, the sheetportions which are still not lying completely flat one upon another areguided together through lateral guides 58, 59 which converge almost to apoint, then folded sharply by rolls 60, 61. A

special folding effect can be produced, for instance, by resilientrolls. The rolls 60, 61 can cooperate with two folding bars 62, 63 toact as feed rolls which advance the longitudinally folded sheets adesired distance beyond the outside edges of the two folding bars 62,63, whereafter the sheet is folded transversely. A control mechanism(not shown) rotates the rolls 60, 61 intermittently so that the foldedsheet is first moved a distance of 297 mm. beyond the apexes of thefolding bars. Before the roll operate againand before, therefore, thesheet moves againthe same is folded transversely by means known per so.A clamping device 64 which can have rollers 65 (FIG. 15) is moved intothe chain-like position 66 visible in FIG. 13 and clamps the previouslybent sheet around the apex of the folding bars 62, 63. Either thisprocedure is repeated, the required spacings being maintained, independence upon the number of transverse folds required something whichin turn depends upon the size of the formator the sharply foldedremainder of the longitudinally folded sheet is ejected.

FIG. 14 shows an embodiment of how the clamping device 64 can berectilinearly guided in its movement parallel with the folding bars 62,63. Two tubes 68, 69 adapted to move axially parallel with a baseplate67 are mounted in two bearing lugs '70, 71 thereof. Means known per sedrive the rolls 60, 61 and the clamping device 64.

To explain how the folding machine operates, a description will how begiven of how a drawing of DIN A format is folded.

The sheet to be folded is so introduced at a place 39 (see FIGS. 8-10)as to abut the abutments 40-43. A switch (not shown) is operated tostart the machine. A magnet-operated perforator produces the marginalperforation 44, 45 in the sheet for stapling purposes. Depending uponthe size of the sheet fed in, the switch 46 or 47 or 48 is operated toselect the appropriate pivot pin 35 and template 15. The drive 32 thenrotates the shaft 31 with the cam thereon. The cams move the variousmovinbg folding sticks into their corresponding folding positionconsecutively. First, the stick is raised and clamps the sheet againstthe matching element 1. As the stick 5 rises, the preselected templatesecured thereto is pivoted by the magnet 19 as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.As can be seen in FIG. 8, the folding edge of the template 15 and thecorresponding edge of the folding ledge 15a are so inclined that thatpart to be folded of the sheet portion folded up by the template 15 issharply bent back or folded by more than 90 between the folding edges ofthe template 15 and the ledge 15a once the stick 5 has reached its topposition. Because the folding edges are inclined, the template 15 iswedged to the folding ledge, to disengage therefrom only when the stick5 has withdrawn a little in the manner to be described hereinafter. Theconstruction and operation of the other templates 16, 17 and of theother ledges 16a, 170 are identical.

The stick 6 is then raised automatically to the extent determined by thepreselected pivot pin 35 which has meanwhile been engaged. The linkage25 now pivots the plate 37 so that the diagonal folding initiatedbetween the folding edges of the template 15 and the ledge 15a iscompleted. Immediately after the stick 6 the sticks 7, 8 are raised veryrapidly one after another and move the sheet with them, the same beingcompletely folded around the sticks. The corresponding cam is so devisedthat the stick 5 has withdrawn as the stick 8 moves in.

Since the folded sheet is under some tension 6-8 which are still in thegaps must be loosened slightly before the sheet is withdrawn. Thisloosening is also the result of appropriate devising of the cams. Thesheet is now drawn through the guide 50 and folded sharply andtransversely by the device shown in FIGS. 11-15. Alternatively, thesheet can just be transversely folded around the edges 51, 52 at removal(see FIG. 9).

The other DIN A-1 and A2 formats and all the intermediate formats arefolded similarly to what has just been described with reference to thefolding of DIN A0 format.

By appropriate choice and variation of the cams, any other format can befolded to any other folding pattern. The device according to theinvention is therefore a universal device for automatically foldingsheets or any other foil-like material.

As a further point, the folding edges of the folding sticks and theirmating elements should be rounded, for instance, semicircular, in ordernot to overstress the sheet.

What I claim is:

1. In a device for folding sheets of paper and the like, comprising ahousing having a table adjacent its upper end, said housing beingprovided with an entrance slot for feeding paper sheets to said housingfrom said table, stop elements for engaging the edge of said sheets tolimit the entrance thereof into said housing, a series of folding barssupported in said housing above said entrance slot and arranged inspaced apart relation, a series of folding bars movable mounted in saidcasing beneath said entrance slot, one of said movable folding barsbeing adapted to grip the edge of one of said sheets adjacent the edgeengaged by said stop elements and the other of said movable folding barsbeing arranged to be received between the folding bars supported abovesaid entrance slot in digitating relation therewith, a cam shaft mountedin said housing, a motor for driving said cam shaft, a series of cams onsaid cam shaft, fulcrum levers pivoted within the housing having one endconnected with a corresponding movable folding bar and the opposite endprovided with a cam engaging roller, at least one of said fulcrum leversbeing provided with a series of openings for selectively receiving afulcrum pin to change the throw of the lever and vary the distance thatsaid at least one folding lever projects between a pair of adjacentfolding levers above said entrance slot to thereby vary the spacing ofthe distance between certain fold lines in the paper sheet.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which said cams are arranged tofirst cause the paper to be gripped and the remaining folding barsoperated thereafter in succession.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which said paper is folded to apredetermined pattern and in which a folding flap is carried by theforwardmost movable folding bar to diagonally fold the corner of saidsheet during the folding operation.

4. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which a removable fulcrum pin isprovided and selectively received in openings in the fulcrum lever tovary the distance that one of said movable folding bars moves between anad acent pair of fixed movable bars.

5. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which said cams are disposed on acommon shaft.

6. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which the operative edges of thefolding bars are rounded.

7. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which the diagonal folding flapsare magnetically operated during operation of the movable folding bars.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,709,361 4/ 1929McCormack 270-85 2,645,044 7/ 1953 Zimarik 270-85 X 2,699,936 1/1955Dixon et a1 270-84 3,083,010 3/1963 Salmon et al 270- FOREIGN PATENTS130,950 3/1901 Germany.

UGENE CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A DEVICE FOR FOLDING SHEETS OF PAPER AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING AHOUSING HAVING A TABLE ADJACENT ITS UPPER END, SAID HOUSING BEINGPROVIDED WITH AN ENTRANCE SLOT FOR FEEDING PAPER SHEETS TO SAID HOUSINGFROM SAID TABLE, STOP ELEMENTS FOR ENGAGING THE EDGE OF SAID SHEETS TOLIMIT THE ENTRANCE THEREOF INTO SAID HOUSING, A SERIES OF FOLDING BARSSUPPORTED IN SAID HOUSING ABOVE SAID ENTRANCE SLOT AND ARRANGED INSPACED APART RELATION, A SERIES OF FOLDING BARS MOVABLE MOUNTED IN SAIDCASING BENEATH SAID ENTRANCE SLOT, ONE OF SAID MOVABLE FOLDING BARSBEING ADAPTED TO GRIP THE EDGE OF ONE OF SAID SHEETS ADJACENT THE EDGEENGAGED BY SAID STOP ELEMENTS AND THE OTHE OR SAID MOVABLE FOLDING BARSBEING ARRANGED TO BE RECEIVED BETWEEN THE FOLDING BARS SUPPORTED ABOVESAID ENTRANCE SLOT IN DIGITATING RELATION THEREWITH, A CAM SHAFT MOUNTEDIN SAID HOUSING, A MOTOR FOR DRIVING SAID CAM SHAFT, A SERIES OF CAMS ONSAID CAM SHAFT, FULCRUM LEVERS PIVOTED WITHIN THE HOUSING HAVING ONE ENDCONNECTED WITH A CORRESPONDING MOVABLE FOLDING BAR AND THE OPPOSITE ENDPROVIDED WITH A CAM ENGAGING ROLLER, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID FULCRUM LEVERSBEING PROVIDED WITH A SERIES OF OPENINGS FOR SELECTIVELY RECEIVING AFULCRUM PIN TO CHANGE THE THROW OF THE LEVER AND VARY THE DISTANCE THATSAID AT LEAST ONE FOLDING LEVER PROJECTS BETWEEN A PAIR OF ADJACENTFOLDING LEVERS ABOVE SAID ENTRANCE SLOT TO THEREBY VARY THE SPACING OFTHE DISTANCE BETWEEN CERTAIN FOLD LINES IN THE PAPER SHEET.